Eat Posts | The Pensive Girl

Dulce de Leche… revisited

January 17, 2012 | Posted by pensivegirl | Comments Off

If you have read this blog, you know I love caramel… With family coming over the holidays, I had to whip up a batch of dulce de leche to go over some decadent homemade vanilla ice cream. Of course, there’s nothing fast about making dulce de leche. It is a 3 hour long milk-jam-fest, but I think it is well worth it. In the end you have a caramelized jam that tastes distinctly of the milk you started with. As always, I urge you to use the best ingredients you can find because you are concentrating all those flavors.

Here are my recent exploits along with pictures:

Dulce de Leche
2 quarts or 1 half gallon Milk
24 oz Sugar
1 vanilla bean
3/4 tsp baking soda

1. Have sterile jars ready to go for your finished product. If you sterilize in the dishwasher, just leave them in there until you are ready. We are not making a pantry item, like fruit jams, and we will not be water-bath sealing the jars. This product must live in the refrigerator. I have found it lasts much longer than the pros suggest. They suggest between 1-2 months, and I have found it good in my fridge for 6.

2. Slice & scrape vanilla bean into milk, in the largest pot you have. It should be at least twice as tall as the amount of liquid you’re putting into it. (I use a 8″ high large wide oval enameled cast-iron oven – see pics.)

3. Bring milk up to almost boiling. (It is never good to walk away from boiling or almost-boiling dairy. Once you start this recipe, you are in the kitchen with that pot for almost 3 hours. Make sure you have a drink, a snack, and that you’re good to go.)

4. Add sugar and stir continuously until sugar dissolves and becomes completely incorporated into the milk.

5. As mixture comes almost to a boil once again, add the baking soda.

After adding Baking Soda

(BE PREPARED – this tiny amount of baking soda is going to cause a bubbly and hissy fit in the pot. In my pot, which is more than double the amount of milk, it does almost bubble over the edge. When this happens, I remove the pot from the heat for a few seconds to let it relax. Once manageable, I put right back on the heat.)

Calm after the Storm

6. Continue cooking and stirring this mixture until it is thick and brown. For me, this happens almost exactly 1 hour past

the addition of the baking soda. (You are looking for viscosity, while not allowing it to burn. Remember that brown color is the caramelization of the milk solids.

Getting Brown & Yummy

The darker you like your caramel, the darker you can let your dulche de leche go.

Be careful if you are pushing the envelope of color; it will burn in an instant!)

Brown & Bubbly

7. Once you have decided it is ready, remove from heat. Ladle into jars.

I use a canning funnel to make this easier and cleaner. I also leave about 1/2″ room of headspace at the top of the jar.

8. Once cooled to room temp, store jars in the fridge. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Thanksgiving – did we give thanks?

November 24, 2011 | Posted by pensivegirl | Comments Off

I always wonder just that when we get done with our Thanksgiving feast. It’s always such hub-bub to get all the food ready. Inevitably something goes awry, and we sit down to dinner a little too hungry, a little late, and a little frazzled. Just an average American family… Did we remember the thanks?

Well this year, I decided to write this post to make sure I remember all that I am thankful for. Mostly I am thankful for that same family who makes me crazy with the dinner preparations. They are everything. Family is truly the people who irritate you the most, but also they are the ones that will stand beside you when you are hurt and have tears running down your face. Yes, they make me crazy, but I love them for it. Oh yes, I also relish the fact that I get to make them crazy, too.

Happy Thanksgiving, my people!

Mint Chocolate Chip with Mint Chocolate Fudge Sauce

January 29, 2011 | Posted by pensivegirl | Comments Off

OK first thing’s first… I love LOVE love having an ice cream maker. It is the new fascination in my foodie life. I am starting with the tried and true recipes of the masters, and I’m sure I will branch off soon into my own pensive land.

Today I needed to bring a dessert to a little friendly get together, but of course, it turned into a challenge. My host thought the options could only be among the simple – namely chocolate, vanilla or strawberry. There is nothing I love more than a challenge where someone says, “that’s not possible.” So instead I crafted the first request from my friend’s son – Mint Chocolate Chip.

Of course, I went to the master, Mr. Lebovitz, for a starting point. (Here is his recipe.) I wanted to try a natural mint ice cream. Frankly, I don’t think I have ever had one. We all know those national food guys aren’t steeping mint for each batch. So I followed the instructions and steeped the fresh mint leaves for an hour in the warmed milk, cream, and sugar mixture. Continue with the custard and more cold cream, et voila! Ice cream…

I adore the Stracciatella method of adding chocolate chips and my gosh, it is SO simple. Melt some great chocolate and stream it into the 90% churned ice cream. It practically freezes on contact and then gets mixed in to the cream in long thin shards of chocolate. It is beautiful and creates the most wonderful texture in your mouth. The other plus of this method is no stabilizers from commercial chocolate chips – just pure chocolate love!

This ice cream has such a fresh herbaceous flavor, definitely mint. I think at first the flavor stunned me a bit because I am so used to the mass produced mint ice creams. I wasn’t sure I liked it upon first bite. But it didn’t take many more bites for it to grow on me, and I love it. I also love knowing that this upcoming summer there will be no need to throw away any mint. Last summer I had so so so much mint that I couldn’t find enough uses for it. Problem solved…

I also chose to spiff up some homemade decadent chocolate fudge sauce with a little peppermint oil as an accompaniment to the main star. Even if you don’t make the ice cream – I highly recommend trying your hot fudge recipes with different flavorings. You’ll be hooked!

Panforte Ice Cream

January 29, 2011 | Posted by pensivegirl | Comments Off

I decided to start tracking my ice cream endeavors. So many of them start with David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, which I feel is a perfect book! This recipe is no different. Please check out the book here.

This ice cream tastes like an Italian panettone and is one of the most rich decadent frozen treats I have made. Flavors of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and honey perfume and flavor the custard. At the end, roasted almonds and candied citrus peel are mixed in for more favor and texture. This is certainly not something you are ever going to find in your run-of-the-mill ice cream shop.

While making the custard I realized that if I bumped up the spice profile, added a little black tea, and left out the mix-ins, I would have a blissful chai tea flavor. I highly recommend this flavor of ice cream if you want something a little off the beaten path but so scrumptious that everyone will love it.

David Lebovitz – The Perfect Scoop

January 12, 2011 | Posted by pensivegirl | Comments Off

This book was a gift for Christmas 2010, along with a shiny new appliance. An ice cream maker!!! I had no idea I was missing anything by not having this machine earlier, but now on Jan 12th, I am reformed. Homemade ice cream is THE single most amazing dessert discovery I had this year. OK OK, I know the year is so new the plastic hasn’t all been ripped off yet, but I am passionate about the homemade ice cream delights in my freezer.

I wouldn’t have been able to get properly started without David’s book of frozen wonder. I have tried blue cheese and honey ice cream (good but weird), gianduja (a milk chocolate ice cream made with hazelnut infused milk – a true worldly joy), chocolate, rocky road, guiness-chocolate, vanilla with and without chocolate chips… If you own a machine or are thinking of getting one – The Perfect Scoop is THE perfect accessory. You will not be disappointed.

The Perfect Scoop is a perfect 5 stars. Enjoy!

1 – hated it – not even worth the dead trees
2 – got through it, but wouldn’t keep it in my library
3 – really enjoyed it, was entertained, and would read more by this author
4 – loved this book, need to keep it on the bookshelves and recommend to a friend
5 – this blew my socks off and rocked my world

Pumpkin Roll Cake

December 6, 2010 | Posted by pensivegirl | Comments Off

So we had a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving and I have a good 15 oz of pumpkin puree leftover that I don’t want to waste. Well… the sweetie tells me about this super scrumptious pumpkin roll cake (rolled up with a cream cheese filling) that someone brought to work from a local grocery store. Alright – I can do that. It sounds like the Libby Pumpkin Roll Cake that I have seen all over the place.

Why do I never have the right baking pan? My kitchen is full of good equipment, and yet, there are still recipes that want me to have more… The Libby recipe calls for a 11×15″ jelly roll pan. I don’t have that. Do you have that? So I had to pull out the math skills in order to use up 15 oz of pumpkin and not buy anything extra – like a jelly roll pan.

My sweetie’s eyes glaze over as I wax on about having to figure the surface area of the jelly roll and the surface area of my half sheet pan (13×18″), as well as their percentage of difference. All my friends eyes seem to glaze over when I pull out the math. I love math. Why do so many hate it? So I extrapolated a pumpkin roll cake recipe for a half sheet pan, which I feel is a much more common pan size for foodies in America.

I have to say, I wasn’t really sure I even wanted to make this cake, but of course I did because I always fulfill food requests. However, I take all my reservations back. This pumpkin cake is moist and delicious with absolutely no fat. I am going to work on manipulating that into a pumpkin quick bread. But for now, here is the roll cake recipe.

PUMPKIN ROLL CAKE (for HALF SHEET PAN 13×18″)
CAKE
• 46 g powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 136 g all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 large eggs + 1 white
• 300 g granulated sugar
• 252 g pumpkin puree

FILLING
• 12½ oz. cream cheese,@ room temp
• 156 g powdered sugar, sifted
• 132 g butter, softened
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions for Cake:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 18×13-inch half sheet pan; line with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar. (***NOTE: I did this kitchen towel business and by the time it was over, I couldn’t believe I was so dumb. Why not just use some parchment paper instead of ending up with a disgusting towel and mess everywhere!***)

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in small bowl.

BEAT eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture – don’t overmix! Spread evenly into prepared pan.

BAKE for 14-17 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. (***NOTE: If I had used parchment instead of a kitchen towel, the plan would be to place the parchment onto a large enough cookie sheet. Place on top of cake in the pan, and flip it over so that your cake is now on the parchment on the sheet.***) Carefully peel off the baked paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool.

Directions for Filling:
BEAT cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Family Food…

December 3, 2010 | Posted by pensivegirl | Comments Off

Sometimes it makes me a bit nuts that I try to keep learning and becoming a better cook… only to find out that my family would rather have cranberries out of the can and nothing different on the menu – ever!

Do any of you have this trouble? Especially at this time of year, when our culinary talents are on display the most, it seems our loved ones only want what they’ve always had. I sometimes feel that I have tons of delectables left to make but no one to make them for. So I feed my office, my sweetie’s office, and anyone else I can find. I have never understood why my family would rather eat junk while I continue to gourmet gift perfect strangers.

The other thing that makes me absolutely bonkers during the holiday season is that EVERYONE becomes a baker, whether they have skills or not. Fine. I want people to learn and get better – love that. But I don’t want to be the recipient of your half-cooked baking experiment; nor do I want to “compete” with you over who’s food is better. Thanksgiving seems to have become a cooking triathlon… First leg is appetizers, second leg is side dishes, and third leg is dessert. Yikes!!! Why do we do this to each other? You make one thing and I’ll make another. Let’s not continue making the same thing and forcing our loved ones to try everything while we watch with breath held and eyes wide. Stop the insanity!

Caramel, Butterscotch, & Dulce de Leche

December 2, 2010 | Posted by pensivegirl | Comments Off

OK, now that I have made them all a bazillion ways… they are all caramels!!! Did you know this? I didn’t. I thought there was some alcohol surely involved in butterscotch. Nope… just brown sugar and butter. I was never convinced of what dulce de leche was except that it was delicious. It’s a caramel milk jam. Yep – sounds good right? So here are my three favorites.

The DULCE DE LECHE is straight from my dear friend (ok, he doesn’t know me – but I know him!) Alton Brown. So I’ll link it here for you. Dulce de Leche has an intensely milk flavor as it is, indeed, a sweetened milk jam. The milk solids carmelize as the jam is reducing. It is tremendously addictive and to be honest, I eat it right out of the jar. Even though it is a caramel, it is so distinct due to the abundance of milk in it.

The BUTTERSCOTCH (yum!) has found its way into my heart and into my brownies more than I can say… I find that butterscotch is darker, richer, and more developed than white sugar caramels. Surely that is due to the molasses content in its main ingredient – brown sugar. Here it is, with the disclaimer that food like this will only taste fabulous if you use good quality ingredients, since there are so few…

206 g. light brown sugar
2 fl. oz. water
84 g. golden cane syrup
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
4 fl. oz. cream, room temp, not ultra-pasteurized
¼ tsp. soy sauce, no cheap imitators please
58 g. european higher fat salted butter, room temp
1/8-1/4 tsp. sea salt

Prep your 8″x8″ by lining with parchment.
Make sure the butter is room temp and cut into tablespoons.
Bring your cream to room temp, as well, and add the soy sauce to it.
The brown sugar, rice syrup, water, and cream of tartar all go into a high-sided saucepan on high heat to dissolve. You can stir – but only while the sugar is dissolving and not in a vigorous manner. Once the sugar dissolves, place a lid on the pot for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and insert your candy thermometer. DO NOT STIR. Lower heat to med or med-high. DO NOT WALK AWAY. I like the temp to come to 290-300 Farenheit. I know a lot of recipes call for 340, but I think it is too bitter to take. Watch it and listen to you nose! Your nose knows. If it smells like cooked sugar getting dark and looks like it is getting too dark – act quickly and move on to the next step regardless of the lies your thermometer is telling you.
Remove pan from heat for 2 minutes. Then add cream. It will bubble violently as it mixes into the hot sugar. BE CAREFUL. Stir the cream in. When it seems well mixed, add the tablespoons of butter. Stir lightly and return to medium heat.
Cook until the temperature has return to 255 Farenheit.
Pour into your prepped pan. After 30 minutes cooling, add the sea salt. Let butterscotch cool for at least 3 hours.
At this point, the butterscotch is yours to enjoy in any way you like. As I said my favorite is to place it right in between two layers of fresh brownie. :) Enjoy! (This makes a layer of butterscotch that is approx 3/8″ thick. You can easily double this recipe and use the same pan for them to set up.

The CARAMEL CANDY is just divine. How else could so few ingredients make your mouth so happy? If you use less cream, you get a stickier caramel candy. If you use more cream and cook the second cooking shy of 255 – you will end up with more of a sauce. I like this ratio because it gives you something solid enough to be candy and yet soft and fluid enough to be chewable.

412 g. sugar
4 fl. oz. water
168 g. golden cane syrup or corn syrup
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
8 fl. oz. cream, room temp, not ultra-pasteurized
9 Tbl. unsalted butter
1 tsp. sea salt, to taste

Prep your 8″x8″ by lining with parchment.
Make sure the butter is room temp and cut into tablespoons.
Bring your cream to room temp, as well.
The sugar, syrup, water, and cream of tartar all go into a high-sided saucepan on high heat to dissolve. You can stir – but only while the sugar is dissolving and not in a vigorous manner. Once the sugar dissolves, place a lid on the pot for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid and insert your candy thermometer. DO NOT STIR. Lower heat to med or med-high. DO NOT WALK AWAY. I like the temp to come a little higher with white sugar caramel – about 320 Farenheit. Watch it and listen to you nose! Your nose knows. If it smells like cooked sugar getting dark and looks like it is getting too dark – act quickly and move on to the next step regardless of the lies your thermometer is telling you.
Remove pan from heat and add cream. It will bubble and steam violently as it mixes into the hot sugar. BE CAREFUL. Stir the cream in. When it seems well mixed, add the tablespoons of butter. Stir lightly and return to medium heat.
Cook until the temperature has return to 255 Farenheit.
Remove from heat and let sit in pan for 15 minutes. Taste carefully – this is liquid hot sugar so use caution! – and add the salt to taste. Blend in.
Pour into your prepped pan. After 30 minutes cooling, add the sea salt. Let caramel cool for at least 3 hours. Enjoy any way you like. Store airtight.

Be aware that moisture is the sworn archenemy of any kind of caramel. This is evidenced by how easy it is to clean up your caramel cooking pot. Keep them dry and they will keep you happy.